Gears of War creator dreams of VR multiplayer with the Oculus Rift

At PAX, Cliff Bleszinski shares his dreams of a lucid VR gaming experience

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Ever dream of fragging your friends in virtual reality? Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has. At PAX East, he told an eager crowd that he's waiting for the day when equipment like the Oculus Rift will become the standard.

During his PAX keynote - the adorably titled "Storytime with Cliff Bleszinski" - the Xbox 360 mogul described himself as a "light sleeper and a dreamer," and claimed that he's in love with the Oculus Rift.

This isn't the first time Bleszinski has expressed interest in immersive gaming peripherials. At E3 2011, he said that if he were a teenager, he'd be hacking the Xbox 360's Kinect motion controller.

The Oculus Rift being demoed at CES this year

For those who missed its wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, the Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that fits the user much like ski googles. Since the unveiling of the original prototype in 2012, it has received the endorsement of gaming industry giants John Carmack and Gabe Newell.

Now Bleszinski has offered his opinion saying that with the Oculus, "we're moving more and more to that ultimate fantasy experience where you're essentially living the dream with that level of immersion." His hope is that "once this becomes a mainstream item, we can all share the dream together."

Bleszinski compared his experience with the Oculus to lucid dreaming, where the sleeper becomes aware that they're dreaming, and can control the dream.

But Bleszinksi's dreams might come true sooner than he described. Valve programmer Joe Ludwig told Engadget this week that Valve's online shooter Team Fortress 2 will become the first official Oculus Rift game.

That was the only hint into gaming's future that Bleszinski offered. He gave no comment as to the future of his career after leaving his position as Design Director at Epic Games, or his thoughts on the upcoming console war between the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4.